this post was written in two parts, here is part one, written a few weeks ago now…

despite mercury being in retrograde again, i think the day went remarkably well. i got a flat on my bike on the way to work, but i was only about a seven minute walk away at that point so i still made it on time. then i discovered that the interview i wanted for a new position in the company could happen that day when i returned from delivering mail. being totally unexpected i had no interview clothes, but apparently that was fine. however my hair hadn’t been washed in three days so i went to soap my greasy bangs in the bathroom sink. a coworker came in as i was blotting at my bangs with a paper-towel and wondered if i had hit my head on something. i had the interview and it went ok, i’d say, but time will tell. interviews are not my favourite thing! perhaps if i had more practice with them, but that isn’t really my idea of fun. after the interview i wanted to get to the rcmp office before 3:30 to get my fingerprints done for the security screening. i still had to fix my flat, and the interview ended at 2:30, so i didn’t think i was going to make it. in the process of fixing the flat, i got black brake powder all over my hands and then managed to glue it all on with contact cement, which i had smeared on my hands like lotion when it poured out of the tube and i didn’t want to get it all over the workplace floor. sigh. i scrubbed and scrubbed it off as best i could, thinking there as no way they could fingerprint me now. as i was finishing up and putting my helmet on, my co-worker with a truck (who had earlier in the day volunteered to give me a ride home if necessary) arrived back and whisked me off to the rcmp with ten minutes to spare. and it turns out i didn’t have to worry about contact cement inhibiting their ability to take my fingerprints, because everything is done electronically now. my fingerprints were SCANNED! of course. i still live in the stone age.

part 2: we are on the move folks. we departed the wee isle thursday morning on the first ferry. rise and shine. i am still in get-up early mode for work, or maybe it’s partly the constant buzz of plans and what-comes-next that is going through my head that keeps me awake in the early hours. i finished work mid-week last week, unwittingly. i thought i had two more days, but then we ended up striking and then striking again on friday, which enabled me to catch the early ferry home. wednesday of that week, i had the interview for the new position i was applying for, and guessssssss whaaaaaat!? i got it! i am going to be the new postmaster for the wee island! holy cows. a whole new adventure when i get home…. but for now, back to this adventure. off the first ferry and into a whirlwind of chiropractor, groceries, appointment to get new all-season tires installed and then rush back to the thrift store where i was really hoping for a set of snow chains before heading off into the snowy mountains. score! the thrift store did not let us down. left the thrift store with 25 minutes til the ferry off the big isle, and on we headed into newness! i hadn’t been back to the mainland (other than the boat trip with carson, but that doesn’t count in the way that i mean, because we were on a boat trip!) since moving here a little over two years ago. it’s also the first trip johnny and i have been on together, so double the excitement. we spent the first night in vancouver with dave and barb after hitting the scrap metal recyclers and three thrift stores, at one of which i found the coveted foam roller i had been searching for! shweet. then the next morning we took off towards the mountains and golden to visit dear friends carrie, don and arlen. after this leg of the trip the plan is to aim down towards yellowstone and the hot-springs there, then down on to the southern california desert and back up to the bay area for a short stint of work before weaving back up the coast. will have to report more on that later though, as/after it happens, for now it is all an exciting upcoming dream.

the past week at home was a swirl of packing, connecting with friends, making delicious meals, making plans, and getting the homestead ready to leave. the annual burlesque show was last weekend, which as you might imagine, was a hoot. this community folks, it has my heart….

please forgive the potential disjointedness of this post, i am trying to get one out before we really hit the road, because who knows when i can write the next one…